One Simple Act
by the-wanderer's-story
Summary: We were here for seven months, which may not seem like all that long, but those seven months changed us, changed us all.


1

- One Simple Act -

Disclaimer : I don't own Lost, and the quote is by Hazel Scott

A/N : This story is based on a quote that I found in my homework planner one day when I was spacing out in math class...I thought it suited Lost so here it is...

"Who ever walked behind anyone to freedom? If we can't go hand in hand, I don't want to go."

Kate's POV

The day had come. Rescue. The moment everyone had been waiting for since the fateful day that oceanic flight 815 crashed. The day that the survivors had given up on. But it was here.

A government plane had spotted the island while scouting out new areas for experimenting with military weapons. They had called for a boat to come pick up the survivors. They were going home.

Shouts of joy filled the air as the boat arrived. People had gathered what little belongings they had and were heading towards the boat as quickly as they could, as if this were all a dream and if they didn't get aboard fast enough the boat would dissolve into thin air and everything would go back to "normal."

That's what I was hoping would happen. I stood at the edge of the water "sinking," probably for the last time. I was happy for everyone else, but I can't deny that a small part of me wished that the rescuers would just leave and that I wouldn't have to leave my home.

Because that's what the island was to me, a home. I had never stayed in one place for so long, with people that actually cared about me, and I about them. So many thing had happened here, things that couldn't be erased no matter how hard you tried or what therapist you went to. People, companions, friends had died here. People had been kidnaped and returned a different person, and a new life had begun. We were here for seven months, which may not seem like all that long, but those seven months changed us, changed us all.

Only a few people including myself were still on the beach. Walt was throwing his ball for Vincent one last time, Jack was talking with one of the rescuers, and Sayid could be seen in the distance at Shannon's grave, saying goodbye. And then there was me, I don't know why I didn't just go get on the boat. Maybe it was because I didn't want everyone else to see me taken from them in handcuffs, maybe it was because I couldn't bear to see them celebrating their survival, knowing it may be the last time I would ever lay eyes on them. Or maybe it was both, I didn't want to be taken to a room separated from everyone else, never being able to say goodbye.

But how would I say goodbye anyways? How do you say goodbye to someone that you lived with for more than half a year? With a look? A handshake? But you spent the hardest time of your life with these people, you trust them, they trust you, you confided in them, they confided in you. How do you say goodbye?

As I contemplated this one of the rescuers approached me. I didn't notice, or maybe I just didn't want to. They asked if I was Kate Austin. I nodded, there was no use in running any more. Even if I had wanted to I just couldn't do it. The marshal took my hands roughly, no sympathy for fugitives, and began to place the handcuffs on them. This was what I had been dreading, losing my freedom. The sound of the cold metal locking into place around my wrist.

"Stop," someone shouted. I didn't have to look up to know it was Jack, but I did anyways, just to see him running towards me, trying to save me, like he did everyone else. Acting the hero that he was. But he couldn't help me this time, as much as I wanted him to, he couldn't. He had to accept my fate, just as a I had to. I smiled at that thought. Fate. That must have been what brought us to this island. We were all lost in one way or another but over the last seven months we found ourselves, that had been our fate.

So my fate must have been different. I was meant to lose myself and find myself only to be taken back to my old life, to lose myself again. This couldn't happen. I couldn't accept this. There was no way I could go back to the old me...

My thoughts were interrupted by Jack pushing the guard off of me. Jack took the key and began to undo the cuffs that seemed to burn my skin. The guard yelled at Jack to stop but Jack threw the handcuffs into the sand and started to pull me towards the boat. I didn't refuse but I knew this wouldn't work. He couldn't just walk off with me like nothing had happened. I couldn't let him do this.

"Jack..." I pleaded, "Don't do this to me, don't do this to yourself."

"Kate, I'm not letting them take you, I don't know what you did but I don't care, in my mind you don't deserve this. You brought so much to this island, we need you Kate, I need you."

I looked up at Jack to find tears in his eyes, knowing he was seeing the same in mine. And I knew that he knew this wouldn't work, that I would have to go with the marshal, but I could also see the determination that was there and that he wasn't going down without a fight.

By now the marshal had caught up to us, he pulled me back towards himslef while shouting at Jack.

"This woman is a fugitive, she is coming with me," the man said.

I glanced out at the boat just off shore and could see everyone on the boat and the few people still in the water watching what was going on.

Jack spoke up again. "I don't know what Kate did but what I do know is that she helped everyone to survive on this island, without her some of us might be dead and without her baby Aaron wouldn't have been delivered successfully. Kate has done so much for all of us, everyone on board that ship would agree, she deserves a second chance!."

"I don't care what she deserves, what matters is what she did before she came here and now she must pay for it." shouted the marshal, he was fed up with his confrontation and he just wanted to leave.

I couldn't keep the tears from falling. What Jack was saying was something I had never heard before: that I was needed, and wanted. I had people I could fall back on and friends that were willing to stick up for me.

Jack gently pulled me back towards him when he saw me crying. He hugged me and whispered in my ear that it would be okay.

"Let go of her Jack," the marshal said.

"No." Jack stated

"Jack...just let me go" I said, as much as it pained me to.

"Never." was his short reply

The marshal took out a gun and pointed it at Jack. Jack moved me behind him so that I wouldn't get hurt.

"Give her back or I will be forced to shoot you," the marshal warned.

"Then shoot, go ahead and shoot me, if Kate has to go to jail I would rather not leave this island, and if I have to, then I won't leave it alive."

"Fine," said the marshal as he readied himself to pull the trigger.

"Hey!" shouted Charlie, as he splashed into the water and ran towards the beach. "Are you really going to murder an innocent man just for defending a girl who has clearly paid for whatever she did by helping 47 other people survive?"

"It's his choice, I warned him."

"Well then you can kill me too, I won't stand by and watch Kate be taken away and Jack killed." said Charlie as he stood next to Jack, blocking me.

More splashing could be heard as more survivors got off the boat and rushed to the beach. The marshal groaned as Sawyer, Hurley, Claire, and Sayid all rushed to my defense, standing in front of Jack and Charlie.

"I will shoot, I swear I will, GET OUT OF MY WAY!", screamed the now desperate marshal.

More and more people were coming of the boat: Jin, Sun, Walt, Michael, and everyone else. Even the people that I didn't really know, or had barley spoken to were now coming to my aid.

"What is this?" yelled the marshal, "what do you people want?"

"I think we've made that quite obvious," Jack yelled from the back of the group. "If Kate can't walk away from this free then none of us are leaving, and you'll have to kill all of us to get to her."

Jack pulled me out from behind him and brushed away my tears. "It'll be okay," he said, "we're all hear for you.

At that new tears poured down my face, because it was true. Everyone had come to my defense, they were like my family and they stood by me as one should. I could hear the people up at the front of the group arguing with the marshal, arguing for my freedom.

I knew I would go free. No matter how badly he wanted me the marshal wouldn't dare kill over 40 people just to get me, he wouldn't want that blood on his hands.

Standing next to Jack I knew that as much as I thought my life had changed up to this point, it needed a lot more fixing before I could lead a "normal" life.

Jack took my hand in his and squeezed it. With that one simple act I realized that I didn't need to run anymore, I meant something to a bunch of people, and most importantly I belonged.

And standing next to Jack on that island, that island that brought us so much grief and trouble, that island that brought us hope, I could see my life ahead of me, and for once, I felt safe.

**The End**

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